Mediaboss Marketing

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region Vian Amer Noori Sulaimani, a Kurdish woman who won the title of Miss Iraq in March has been stripped of her title due to misinformation given during her registration process.

Sulaimani, who is originally from the Kurdish city of Sulaimani but resides in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, was stripped of her title and all of her duties for claiming to be single, when in fact she had previously been married per a press release from Miss Iraqs official Facebook pageon Thursday.

While Ms. Sulaimani told us during the registration that she was engaged in a botched break, she was in fact, connected to a marriage and is now separated or divorced, the press release stated.

The beauty queen was in violation of article number 4 of the rules and regulations to be eligible for the pageant which states Participant must never be married in any form, whether religious or civil and have not given birth to a child.

As an organization aimed at promoting an international level of beauty and elegance, we are saddened by the unfortunate events and pledge to organize what is best next year and with regard to the title of this year will remain abstract until the selection of an appropriate contestant representing Iraq in international competitions for 2017, the statement read.

The runner up usually takes the place of the original winning contestant in such events. This should lead to 18-year-old Masty Hama Adel from Halabja being named Miss Iraq 2017 and taking on Sulaimanis duties. If so, she could possibly run in future international competitions such as Miss Universe in the UK or the US.

See the original post here:
Kurdish Miss Iraq Vian Sulaimani stripped of title - Rudaw

Former Blackwater Worldwide security guard Nick Slatter, (2nd from left) and Donald Ball, (3rd from left) arrive with their lawyers at the U.S. District Court before surrendering to authorities in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Dec. 8, 2008. Chris Detrick / Reuters

In deciding to give Slatten a retrial, the

Slatten was the only one who faced a murder charge because prosecutors alleged that he was the first to fire shots at the Iraqi civilians.

They also ruled that the 30-year sentences for Slough, Liberty and Heard violated "the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment."

Related:

The four men were part of a Blackwater security team that carried the code name Raven 23. Their orders were to secure the route for a diplomatic convoy that was set to travel through western Baghdad in September 2007. When a car bomb exploded in downtown Baghdad, the team set up a protective blockade in the traffic circle of Nisur Square and shot 31 innocent Iraqis in an ensuing firefight, the appeals court said.

Fourteen of the Iraqis, including women and children, died.

Prosecutors said that Slatten, who had taken up a concealed position inside the convoys command vehicle with his sniper rifle, initiated the entire incident when he fired the first shots without justifications.

There were no witnesses during the 2014 trial who said that they saw the guards come under threat and no evidence of a two-sided firefight was ever produced.

Blackwater, which became well-known after the 2007 shooting, was renamed Xe Services in 2009 and Academi in 2011.

NBC News could not immediately reach the four mens lawyers for comment.

Erik Prince, the founder and former CEO of Blackwater, is the brother of Education Secretary Betsy Devos.

Read the original post:
Ex-Blackwater Guard's Conviction in Iraq Massacre Overturned, Appeals Court Rules - NBCNews.com

Three years ago this week, disturbing images of women and children fleeing the Islamic State in northern Iraq shocked the world. During the siege of Mt. Sinjar, reports emerged of ISIS militants ruthlessly massacring Yazidi men and kidnapping and enslaving Yazidi women and children. Girls were separated by eye color and sold to ISIS fighters based on their preference. Thousands were trapped on the mountain, desperate for food, water and rescue.

Similarly, Iraqs ancient Christian community was in the crosshairs as ISIS attempted to establish a caliphate. Days after the Sinjar massacre, ISIS seized Qaraqosh, Iraqs largest Christian city with a population of 50,000. Fleeing on foot, many could not escape being killed, kidnapped, or forced to convert. Churches and other holy sites that had stood for centuries were bombed, defaced or destroyed, or turned into torture chambers and weapons storehouses. The full measure of human suffering exacted against these innocent people remains incalculable.

This bloodthirsty campaign targeting ethnic and religious minorities was clearly genocidea term I do not use lightly. At the time, I and many others urged the Obama Administration to officially recognize the Islamic States atrocities for what they were, and then-Secretary of State John Kerry finally did, on March 17, 2016. His declaration that ISIS is responsible for genocide against Christians, Yezidis and other religious minorities was only the second time in history that a U.S. secretary of state made a genocide determinationthe first being Darfur. Both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives unanimously passed resolutions denouncing this genocide.

Unfortunately, it is unclear whether the current administration maintains this determination. It is important for Secretary Tillerson to publicly address this issue and clarify the administrations stance, which my colleagues and I have asked him to do. Even then, words without action will not change the reality on the ground. The Trump Administration must take decisive steps to counter the gravity of the situation: ISIS is seeking to erase thousands of years of history and the people who represent it.

The Bibles Old Testament is full of references to the ancient cities and towns that comprise modern-day Iraq. Abraham hailed from Ur in southern Iraq. Isaacs wife Rebekah was from northwest Iraq. The twelve sons of Jacob were all born in Iraq, and the spiritual revival depicted in the book of Jonah occurred in the city of Nineveh, now known as Mosul. Many of the Christians there still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus, and trace their faith back to the Apostle Thomas. Sadly, their population in Iraq has quickly dwindled from 1.4 million a generation ago to less than 200,000 today.

If the United States fails to take meaningful steps to support these communities, including ensuring their access to humanitarian assistance and the resources they need to rebuild, even more of them will be forced to abandon their ancient homeland. This would be a tragedy on a multitude of levels, and a deathblow to the vision of a diverse, pluralistic, Iraq that respects religious freedom. The State Department has an obligation to ensure vulnerable and persecuted religious minorities, including victims of genocide receive humanitarian aid, as Congress directed in the most recent appropriations legislation.

I will continue to press for oversight and accountability in this area, but the Executive Branch must prioritize the issue, rather than allow the inertia of the State Department bureaucracy to dictate the path forward. President Trump should quickly end the exclusion of genocide-targeted minorities from U.S. humanitarian and reconstruction aid. A presidential directive would provide much-needed guidance to State Department and USAID personnel. I have no doubt that once Governor Sam Brownback is confirmed as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, he will be a stalwart advocate on behalf of these beleaguered religious communities.

Additionally, Secretary Tillerson should move swiftly to appoint a special coordinator based in northern Iraq who can directly oversee U.S. assistance and collaborate closely with local partners and civil society groups. The U.S. should not cede this important work to the United Nations Development Fund. Combining these efforts with diplomatic engagement with Iraqs central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, we can help guarantee the political and economic rights of these beleaguered communities, as well their return and protection.

President Obamas misguided foreign policy did real damage to Iraqs minorities, but these ancient communities could disappear completely on President Trumps watch if his administration fails to help them.

Marco Rubio has been serving as U.S. Senator from Florida since 2011.

See the article here:
The US Must Act On The Genocide Of Iraq's Christians - The Daily Caller

A mass grave, containing the bodies of around 40 men, was found by the Iraq's army in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi. The army believes that the men were executed by Daesh.

Photo by: AFP Archive

Members of Iraq's elite counterterrorism service secure the Hoz neighbourhood in central Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Anbar province on December 27, 2015.

Iraqi troops have found a mass grave in the western city of Ramadi containing the bodies of 40 men believed to have been executed by Daesh, officials said on Friday.

It is the latest of dozens of such grisly finds made by Iraqi forces since they drove the extremists out of the swathes of northern and western Iraq that they had occupied in 2014.

Ammar Nuri al Dulaimi, an official from a Martyrs Committee for Anbar province, said the bodies had bullet wounds to the head, suggesting they were executed by Daesh.

An army colonel, who asked not to be named, said troops had uncovered the mass grave during a sweep of the Al Tach neighbourhood in the south of Ramadi, which is the capital of the Al Anbargovernate.

The army retook the city in December 2015.

Rwandan president Kagame wins re-election

Israel arrests Hamas lawmaker in overnight raid

Vote counting begins in Rwanda's presidential election

Netanyahu a suspect in Israeli corruption investigations

Rockets, gunfire test new Russia-backed truce near Syria's Homs

Egyptian doctors take their skills to the kitchen

Continued here:
Mass grave discovered in former Daesh-held city in Iraq - TRT World

Donald Trump is wildly popular among the Kurds.

When comedian Samantha Bee traveled to northern Iraq, she was stunned to find Kurds, who are Muslim, who love Trump so much, one couple even named their son after the U.S. president.

This is my son, Trump. Ive called him Trump since the day he was born, one man told Bee, on her show Full Frontal With Samantha Bee.

When Bee asked why, he said: Well, he is angry, very angry, just like him. Although he is so little, sometimes I cannot handle him.

Added the wife of her adorable toddler: He beats us with his fists.

The Kurds, who number around 30 million, are spread out in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The U.S. military has a long history of helping them fight for independence.

Trump became the first U.S. president to support the Department of Defenses plan to directly fund Kurds fighting ISIS.

See more here:
Samantha Bee finds Trump supporters in Iraq - New York Post